1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a saddle-ride type vehicle such as a motorcycle.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional saddle-ride type vehicle such as a motorcycle comprises a main pipe of a frame, which constitutes a skeleton of a vehicle body. The main pipe comprises a front pipe extending longitudinally with a rear end thereof bent downward and a rear pipe extending straight downwardly from the rear end of the front pipe (see, for example, JP-B-3-31621).
An engine is typically supported on the main pipe by connecting a front end of the engine to a front end of the front pipe and connecting a rear end of the engine to a lower end of the rear pipe. Thereby, the engine together with the main pipe is used as a rigid member of the vehicle body.
However, the conventional art involves a problem in that a rear end of the front pipe is bent downward substantially in the form of a dogleg, which causes a load from the engine to be locally centered on the bent portion positioned on the rear end of the front pipe. Thus, when the engine is mounted to the main pipe, the stiffness of the main pipe is negatively affected.
Also, since the rear pipe extends substantially straight downwardly from the rear end side (lower end side) of the front pipe, when a rearwardly directed load from the engine is applied on the rear pipe, the load acts as a large moment on the rear pipe extending straight and the load cannot be transmitted smoothly to the whole main pipe, further decreasing the stiffness of the main pipe.